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Nearly half (49%) of CMOs say B2B events are now more critical than before the pandemic, according to Forrester. And they will remain critical.
In today’s rapidly changing business landscape, our ability to understand customer intentions and act accordingly is the key to maintaining a competitive advantage.
What if the secret to this advantage was hiding in plain sight in the data generated by your events?
Let’s explore how AI, sales, marketing and event technologies extend far beyond the event itself, offering the capture of powerful buying signals that can propel your business to the next level. ‘Before.
The Power of Signal-Based Strategies
Signal-based selling is revolutionizing the way businesses interact with potential customers.
At its core, the approach identifies and interprets customer behaviors (signals) based on data that indicate purchasing intent. Businesses can prioritize prospects showing genuine interest by focusing on these signals, making sales efforts more targeted and effective.
Imagine focusing your resources on high-potential prospects, saving time and dramatically increasing your chances of closing deals.
Applied to events, the promise of signal-based strategies becomes even more exciting.
Events: a gold mine of buying signals
Each stage of an event (before, during and after) provides unique opportunities to gauge your attendees’ interest and accelerate their journey from prospects to buyers.
Every interaction, from registration to post-event surveys, generates valuable data that drives conversions and maximizes impact.
For marketers managing large event programs, the potential is staggering: AI can create a sustainable competitive advantage by capturing a large amount of purchasing signals per event across hundreds or thousands of events around the world.
Types of Buying Signals
To effectively implement a signals-based strategy, it is crucial to understand the different types of buying signals:
- Signals of interest show a basic level of commitment, such as social networks interactions or responses to surveys. While they don’t necessarily indicate strong purchase intent, they can increase awareness at the top of the funnel and provide insight into buyer education needs.
- Pipeline signals demonstrate more concrete steps toward a purchase, such as attending a product demo immediately after an event session or requesting to speak with a salesperson at an event.
- Readiness signals indicate that a customer is in the final decision stages. These signals may include budget discussions, inquiries about the decision-making process, or participation in implementation-focused conference sessions.
- Barrier signals may point to obstacles or opportunities for further engagement. A sudden stop in communication may signal a loss of interest or an internal problem that needs to be resolved. Alternatively, it could indicate that the participant needs more education and is still in the awareness and interest phase.
Implementing signal-based event strategies
To effectively apply your event buying signals, consider the following strategies:
- Use data analysis and transformation. Implement robust customer relationship management (CRM), marketing automation, and customer data platform (CDP) systems to capture crucial information and analyze behavior patterns. Use predictive analytics to evaluate which signals most often lead to sales.
- Invest in smart event technology. Use software that captures data at every stage of the event cycle, including recording, polling, survey and event applications. Ensure solutions integrate seamlessly for real-time monitoring and action.
- Use AI-powered insights. Use AI to evaluate buying signals and create actionable insights. Orchestrate the data flow to capture, respond to, and understand participant signals that drive buyer behavior.
- Train your team. Equip your sales team with the skills to recognize and respond to real-time signals during events. This human touch, combined with technological knowledge, can be a powerful driver of success.
- Personalize your approach. Adapt your event marketing and sales strategies based on the specific signals you’re tracking. Use this information to align multiple buyers with review teams at different stages of the buying journey.
- Leverage first-party intent data. Integrate intent data into your marketing automation system (e.g. Marketo, Pardot, Eloqua) to identify and prioritize high-potential prospects. Augment this process with event data to capitalize on in-person connection opportunities.
The Future of Event Marketing
By adopting AI, data and signals-driven solutions in sales, marketing and events, marketers can navigate the evolving B2B landscape and drive significant revenue growth.
The latest smart event apps use AI and event intelligence (EI) to turn every attendee interaction into rich buyer insights. These technologies enable dynamic assessment of buyer engagement, providing marketing, sales, and customer success teams with a continuous flow of information.
Use the derived insights to refine the interactions and experiences of each attendee or buyer, creating a personalized journey that meets buyers where they are and generates higher-quality results faster.
Note that the cumulative effect of processing signals from hundreds or thousands of events creates a growing gap between those who take this approach and those who do not. This cumulative advantage can establish a lasting advantage in your industry.
Conclusion
In an age where understanding customer intent is paramount, signal-driven event strategies offer a powerful tool for businesses looking to stay ahead of the curve.
Using advanced event technology and AI-driven insights, you can turn every touchpoint of your events into opportunities for deeper understanding and more effective engagement. Signals from hundreds or thousands of events can guide your personalization efforts, meet buyers where they are, and generate higher-quality results faster.
The latest smart event apps use AI and event intelligence to turn every attendee interaction into rich buyer insights. Signal-aware event technology allows you to continually gauge your buyer engagement, providing your marketing, sales, and customer success teams with a continuous stream of information to refine each advocate’s interactions and experiences .
